Deep in the heart of the Midwest, residents of one picturesque town in Missouri feel as though they all have forgotten something: their entire lives.

Deep in the heart of the Midwest, residents of one picturesque town in Missouri feel as though they all have forgotten something: their entire lives.

BLOOMSDALE, Mo. — To most Americans, last Tuesday is fresh in their minds. They may have gone to a salon, seen a movie, had a typical day at work. But in Bloomsdale, no one remembers Tuesday. In fact, not one resident remembers anything about his or her whole life.

State authorities first suspected a hoax when they came across a town of confused and wandering individuals, not sure of where they lived or what they did for a living. Families seem to have no recollection of their relationships. Not even local police can be reached, because simply, nobody remembers which residents were officers.

Now, the state of Missouri has concluded that an entire town could never orchestrate a lie so complex, with such commitment from elderly, middle-aged and younger citizens. By now, authorities say, someone would have come forward with the truth or would have broken down from intensive police questioning. So, the only alternative, according to experts, is that these people are telling the truth, and something has robbed hundreds of their memories and their lives.

While some may draw conclusions rooted in science fiction, including an alien conspiracy, ESP gone wrong or the workings of a mad supervillain, some think the culprit could be something as simple as something in the drinking water or locally produced food. In any case, the largest known case of collective amnesia has attracted the attention of the scientific community.

“I doubt any of those conclusions drawn so far are true,” said scientist Lemar Ramel. “But I do know one thing — for something to cover such a specific area, it’s hard not to think it was intentional. We’ll continue to do our tests, but as of right now, our main goal is to get these people their memory back.”